Vintage Icon Series V100

Les Paul type guitar made in Korea circa 2008. 22 medium frets on a rosewood fretboard, mahogany body and neck with a maple veneer. Wilkinson PAF type humbuckers, wilkinson kluson type tuners. Finish was a relic'd cherry sunburst (more on that later).

Im afraid to say i cant comment on the sound of the stock p'ups as i have swapped them for EMG's. With the EMG's though, it sounds fantastic. i did notice that the guitar sounds good acousticly, with i usually a sign of a good guitar.

The action was perfect for me, medium-high. i must have been lucky as mine had no flaws that were noticeable. It plays as good as my dad's 2008 Gibson Les Paul, pretty amazing really.

i've knocked it over a few times and never managed to damage it. i've replaced the hardware not because any quality issues but because i wanted to have gold hardware. i chose to replace the strap buttons with eyehole screws. i have a good feeling this guitar is gonna last. What finish i've left on the guitar is rather tough so that should last, but it is a relic'd guitar so it will look better with age.

never had to deal with them, ive voided my warranty as i will explain in the next section.

i bought this guitar with the intention of creating a Zakk Wylde Rebel/Bottlecap guitar. i replaced the standard tunematic bridge piece with a gold model made by Gotoh. the tuners where replaced with grover rotomatics and finally the control knobs where removed infavour of ones from Allparts. i am so convinced of the quality of these guitars ive recommended to a few of my friends who have owned many high end guitars.

Don't know the year, but the bridge has "SUNG IL KOREA" stamped on it. I did read that the body and neck are made it Vietnam and Korea (either or both I don't know).

Solid body Mahogany body and neck with a maple cap (thin slice of maple), rosewood neck. Les Paul body style and scale length. Neck is similar to a slim, fast, 60's standard Les Paul neck.

Finish is distressed, called reliced. Many opine that the manufacturer went too far to achieve that well-worn, oft-played look and feel. I tend to like the look, and love the feel.

Standard stoptail bridge, classic tuners (wilkinson).

Music style is clearly classic 60's and 70's rock and 80's indie rock. The Wilkinson PAF pickups provide plenty of classic tone - though a lot depends on the type of amplifier you use.

Neck pickup (rhythm) has a full, rich tone... sometimes woody depending on the amount of tone and volume you dial into it.

The bridge pickup is much brighter though not even close to single coil. It responds well to attack at lower volumes. With a small increase in gain, a slightly overdriven snarky, bluesy tone is easy to dial up.

Setup was appropriate for shipping across the Atlantic - which it was. (Vintage instruments is a British Company) I hope Vintage execs are reading this...
the nut is cut a little too deep - especially on the b string
and a bubble was left under the maple cap - a noticeable defect - but I bought it used on Ebay and got a great price so I can't complain. BUT it I bought the guitar new, I would expect a fix paid for by the Vintage Company. Frankly, I don't know how this could get past a quality control person - Mr. Trevor Wilkinson would not be proud.

Other than that, the finish is purposely distressed (except for the bubble of maple cap) and I love it.

It a rock. Since its distressed, I don't have any worries about a slight ding - just adds to the appeal.

Bought it used so don't have an opinion

I've played guitar for 35 years. I've had strats, a few acoustics, a gorgeous PRS (that I'm afraid to ding), and the Vintage V100 Icon (my first les paul type guitar). I love the feel of the neck and the distressed finish increases the playability! Gotta love it. I've got the PRS with as fine a finish as any guitar ever had. Now I've got a real Player's guitar... Look at Jeff Beck's guitars or Eric Clapton's guitars or Keith Richards AND his guitars - HA. For the classic rock scene (pretty big with the baby boomers) The Vintage V100 Icon is a great option ... at the right price.

Usual LP Style. I have changed bridge for EMG-81

Sounds great. The best LP Copy ever. I have had 10-20 Gibsons LP /Std, Custom, Explorer, Studios/SOunds better than some Standards from 90s. EMG-81 improved sound. Pure Zakk Wylde, no problem with original neck pickup, good balanced.

Every of my guitars first go to my guitar tech. Littel fret buzz between 8-9, now no problem.

No problem

No needs.

I am playing big stages /Marshall Plexi, Marshall Plexi Super Bass, Marshall JCM-900 Master Volume, some effects/ Big arena sound, for the price I have payd no discussion. No difference with Gibson LP by big GAIN sound. I am planning to buy some more ICONS.

Usual LP fittings.
Worn finish appearance, which seems to be achieved by an undercoat of one finish with paint on top and then the wearing out applied.
However the neck wear assists the playability - bizarre effect given its new.

Its the trev Wilkinson parts that make the difference here.
The pickups are wound to give a very full sound.
The bottom and top are also very full - if Free/or mid period Zep through to Guns n Roses are your aim then this has it.
All pickup settings give good variation, the neck pickup esp is v warm.
Clarity could be improved very slightly, but to be honest I wouldnt want to interfere with these pickups at all in case I lost the LP sound.

had been tweaked by the shop. low setting, fast neck. more 60's than 50's if you know what i mean.
plastic pickup surround cracked-but shop will replace so no problem -no this wasnt supposed to be relic'd!

relic'd so none of the new guitar ding worries - they are already on there.
best bit is this will upset the purists - so to me this is more rock n roll!?
good q control overall

not tested

I think this guitar, especially due to the hardware is a ground breaker. How much more performance do you really get for your money. For example Epiphone or PRE SE - does the extra money get you more guitar - pay for the name if you wish?

I have a prs se tremonti with a bareknuckle Riff Raff - the clarity is better but the bottom end isnt - the Trev W pickups are up there at that level - geddit!!

However I believe a first batch purchase at this price level is important-they want the reviews so the initial TLC is always best.

Best of all this guitar will cause some sort of opinion from all guitarists and will upset the "old is best" buffs, and that to me is more rock and roll than ??2000+ for a 70's LP.